Christian Devotional – November 18, 2012

VERSE:
Acts 2:38–Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

TRUTH:
What does it mean to “be saved” or “give your heart to God?” These phrases are often used in churches and yet people don’t always know what they mean. Peter, very simply, indicates that people are to repent, which means to confess the wrongs they have done to God. God promises to forgive us when we do (1 John 1:9) and then after that, two things are to happen. We are to be baptized in the name of Jesus to show the world that we have been forgiven and we will receive the Holy Spirit or Comforter. Repentance is the key and that is what makes baptism have meaning and the Holy Spirit have entrance. That’s really all there is to it.

RESPONSE:
Father, You have made salvation so simple: repent. These two then follow after there has been repentance. Please keep me from making the Christian life more complicated that it really is so that I can share with others how they can find Your grace and salvation through repentance.